The present invention is in the field of corrals for domestic animals including horse corrals, and pertains particularly to a method and apparatus for providing an improved portable horse corral.
The art of corralling animals, particularly horses, requires the assembly of a corral structure to keep the animals in one location. A typical prior-art horse corral comprises a plurality of structured panels having leg apertures, which are assembled, most often by wire, to form the corral enclosure. Ranchers and other horse owners, including hunters, typically load such corral panels separately into a trailer or other vehicle for transporting animals when they travel with their animals. Horses, in particularly are transported to rodeos, equestrian contests, destinations for hunting trips and so on.
Corral panels must be constructed of a suitably strong material for the practical purpose of containing the animals such that they cannot breach the enclosure. The most common material is welded steel pipe or tubing. Single panels are generally somewhat heavy in weight and can be difficult and dangerous for one individual to handle during construction of a corral and when loading and unloading the panels from a trailer. Moreover, handling separate panels, which must be assembled by wiring or other standard methods, is time consuming and may at times produce frustration, especially if animals are upset or spooked and must be corralled quickly.
A portable corral is known to the inventor and is included in this specification by reference as U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,151, by inventors Bolton et al., and referred to herein as Bolton. Bolton attempts to provide a solution to the difficulties of handling and assembling separate panels into a corral by providing a portable corral that may be mounted to a horse trailer.
Referring to FIG. 1 of Bolton, Bolton teaches a potable corral comprising a plurality of separate panels 14 connected together by sleeves 22 that fit over vertical panel members 16. Sleeved connections enable the corral panels to be folded along their lengths (see FIGS. 4-5). The panels have legs 24 attached thereto by pins (not shown), which are inserted into openings provided in the legs for the purpose. The corral, once assembled, is fitted on one end over a vertical pipe (element 32, FIG. 5) secured to a horse trailer 12.
Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10 of Bolton, a mechanical winch apparatus (pulley and cable) is used to lift the corral after it has been assembled and folded so it may be maneuvered into position to be secured to the side of the trailer while resting on a vertical support member 56 that is also attached to the trailer. After the corral is assembled, folded, lifted, and secured to the trailer it can be driven as a portable corral. When a desired destination is reached it is lifted off of its support member using the winch. The folded panels are then swung out away from the trailer and then lowered to ground level whereupon it may be un-tethered and unfolded to form a useable corral. The panel on the free end of the assembled corral acts as a gate.
The portable corral taught by Bolton provides some relief from work associated with wiring or hand assembling separate panels together through provision of sleeved panel junctions. Similarly, provision of the winch apparatus enables easier lifting of the folded corral off of the ground for trailer mounting and off of the trailer support for setting up the corral. However, there are several limitations presented by the corral of Bolton.
One of the limitations of Bolton""s corral is that loading and unloading the corral requires at least 2 people for practical implementation. Referring back to FIG. 10, while one user is operating winch handle 75, another user is required to guide the swing-out or swing-in of the folded corral depending on whether loading or unloading from the trailer. Additionally, the legs must be adjusted using pins adding considerable set-up time for forming the corral after unloading.
Another limitation of Bolton is the weight of the corral. Referring back to FIG. 10, the location of the winch support arm must be close to the support pipe in order to lift the folded corral without compromising slide ability along the support pipe. The corral is not supported on the end opposite the winch causing a requirement for an additional person to help lift the other end. Because of this fact, the corral is weight-limited, meaning that it must be light enough and small enough to fit on a shorter trailer. A much longer (folded dimension) corral could add enough weight to the operation to compromise the vertical support pipe by putting undue stress on it""s mounting locations and hardware.
Yet another limitation of Bolton is that Bolton""s corral is perimeter-limited, meaning that it is designed only for one, or possibly two horses to be corralled comfortably. This limitation is partly dictated by the means of lifting used (winch) and the location of the attaching winch cable. It is also partly dictated by the method of construction of the corral, resulting in all panels of the corral being conjoined together as one unit. Contributing weight limitation forces the panels themselves to be constructed relatively short in length.
A limitation to Bolton is also evident in the construction of the panel junctions, limiting the corral in terms of overall folded width extending from the trailer side in mounted position. That is, the fact that sleeves 22 by virtue of their nature and function must be considerably larger in diameter than the vertical members that they fit over. Therefore, the folded width dimension is dictated by the collective width of the folded sleeves rather than that of the actual collective width of the vertical members aligned in folded position. The actual panel members must be provided of a considerably smaller diameter than what would be possible if they could be folded in aligned position without the sleeves.
What is clearly needed to overcome the limitations described above is a method and apparatus enabling a large-perimeter potable horse corral that may be efficiently set-up, re-mounted to the side of a trailer in a minimum amount of time, by a single user exerting a minimum of effort.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a portable corral system mountable to a trailer for enclosing animals is provided. The portable corral system comprises, a first portion of the corral system having at least one corral panel and a corral gate connected together at their common junction(s), a first lifting mechanism mounted to the trailer and connected to the panel of the first portion of the corral system at an end not connected to another panel or gate, a second portion of the corral system having at least one corral panel connected together, in the case of more than one panel, at their common junctions and a second lifting mechanism mounted to the trailer and connected to the panel of the second portion of the corral system at an end not connected to another panel. A user operating either the first or second lifting mechanism may cause lifting and lowering of either portion of the corral system connected thereto.
In a preferred embodiment, the first and second lifting mechanisms each comprise a hydraulic jack operably mounted to a carriage device. In this embodiment, the carriage device comprises at least a top plate, a base plate, a carriage and at least two carriage runners enabling the carriage to side freely. In one aspect, piano style hinges are used to connect the panel(s) and gate of the first portion of the corral system. In another aspect, piano style hinges are used to connect the panels of the second portion of the corral system in the case of more than one panel. In another aspect, the first and second portions of the corral system are modular and interchangeable with respect to mounted position on the trailer. In a preferred embodiment, the hydraulic Jacks are manually operated. In an alternative embodiment, the hydraulic jacks are electronically operated. In another alternative embodiment, the first and second lifting mechanisms each comprise a ratchet style Jack mounted to a carriage device.
In a preferred aspect of the corral system, at least two barrel style hinges are used to connect each of the first and second portions of the corral system to respective first and second lifting mechanisms. In this aspect, the hinges connected to one lifting mechanism assume an offset position in a direction toward the vertical center of the trailer and then away from the wall of the trailer with respect to the location of the hinges connected to the other lifting mechanism. In all aspects, the panels and gate making up the first and second portions of the corral system are supported off of the ground by vertical legs distributed one each for the panels and one for the gate. In this aspect, the vertical legs are contiguous and of the same material with respect to the host panels or gate.
In another aspect of the corral system, a lifting device is provided for a portable corral system, the corral system mountable to a trailer and having a first and second separable portion thereof the sum of portions including at least 2 corral panels and at least one corral gate connected together at their common junctions respective to their host portions. The lifting device comprises, at least two elongated runners held substantially parallel to one another and in substantially the same plane by a connected base plate and a connected top-plate, a carriage for traveling on the runners in a slidable manner, a jack having a bottom portion thereof fixedly mounted to the base plate and a lift aperture thereof fixedly mounted to the carriage and at least two hinges attached to the carriage for securing a separable portion of the corral system to the lifting device. Operation of the lifting device causes the carriage to be raised and lowered along the length of the runners thereby causing lifting and lowering of the connected portion of the trailer-mounted corral system.
In a preferred embodiment, the device is mounted to the trailer at the locations of the base plate and the top plate. Also in a preferred embodiment, the jack is hydraulic and is manually operated. In an alternative embodiment, the jack is hydraulic and is electronically operated. In another alternative embodiment, the jack is a ratchet style jack and is manually operated. In one aspect, the carriage further comprises at least two L-brackets fixedly attached thereto and supported by an elongated vertical member positioned adjacent to the carriage, the vertical member attached to the carriage and to the L-brackets. The at least two hinges are, in this embodiment, attached one per to the at least two L-brackets in order to provide an offset position for the hinges.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method for setting up a trailer-mounted corral from a folded and locked position on the trailer is provided. The corral having a first and second separable portion thereof each controlled by a separate hydraulic lifting device, the first portion having at least one panel and a gate, the second portion having at least one panel, the panel(s) and gate connected together at their common junctions respective to their host portions. The method comprises the steps of, (a) unlocking the folded corral portions and removing the locking mechanisms, (b) swinging out and unfolding the connected panel(s) of the second portion of the corral to a position substantially 90 degrees from the folded and locked position, (c) swinging out and unfolding the connected panel(s) of the first portion of the corral, the position substantially 90 degrees from the folded and locked position and (d) unfolding the gate of the first portion of the corral such that the free end of the gate may be latched to the panel of the second portion having a free end adapted to accept the latch.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method for loading a trailer-mounted corral from a set up position to a folded and locked position on the trailer is provided. The corral having a first and second separable portion thereof each controlled by a separate hydraulic lifting device, the first portion having at least one panel and a gate, the second portion having at least one panel, the panel(s) and gate connected together at their common junctions respective to their host portions. The method comprises the steps of, (a) unlatching the gate of the first portion of the corral and folding it flush against its adjacent and connected panel by walking it into the corral, (b) lifting the first portion of the corral until the leg of the panel closest to the trailer clears the ground, (c) grasping the gate and its adjacent panel in folded position walking in towards the trailer accomplishing the final fold of the first portion of the corral, (d) lifting the folded first portion of the corral to a position just above brackets and the running board of the trailer using the appropriate lifting device, (e) positioning the folded first portion of the corral over the brackets and flush against the trailer while simultaneously lowering the first portion to rest on the brackets using the appropriate lifting device, (f) lifting the extended second portion of the corral until the leg of the panel closest to the trailer clears the ground, (g) grasping the panel furthest from the trailer at the free end and walking it in towards the trailer accomplishing a folded position of the two panels of the second portion, (h) lifting the folded second portion of the corral to a position just above the brackets and running board of the trailer using the appropriate lifting device, (I) positioning the folded second portion of the corral over the brackets and flush against the folded first portion while simultaneously lowering the second portion to rest on the brackets using the appropriate lifting device; and (J) inserting and engaging the locking mechanisms to lock the folded corral in place against the trailer.
In alternative aspect of the method in steps (c), there is only one panel and one gate eliminating the need for a second fold. In this aspect in step (g) there is only one panel eliminating the need for a fold.
Now, for the first time, a method and apparatus enabling a large-perimeter potable horse corral to be efficiently set-up and re-mounted to the side of a trailer in a minimum amount of time, by a single user, exerting a minimum of force is provided.